Improvement in railroad-rail joints



2 Sheets-S A. B. IBBOTSON 8:, F. J. TALBOT.

RAILROAD RAIL-JOINT. N0. 190,863.

heat 1.

Patented Maylii, 1877.

"-PETFJS. PflOTO-LITMOGRAPHER. WASRIIGTON. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT DEFIOEI.

ALFRED B. IBBOTSON, OF FLORENCE, ITALY, AND FREDERICK J. TALBOT,

- OF SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD-RAIL JOINTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 190,863, dated May 15,1877 application filed March 30, 1877.

To all whom t't may concern Be it known that we, ALFRED BUGKING- HAMIBBOTSON, of Florence, Italy, and Farm- ERICK JOHN TALBOT, of Sheifield,England, steel-manufacturers, have invented new and useful Improvementsin the Construction of Railroad-Rail Joints, which improvements arefully set forth in the following specification, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference thereon.

The object of this invention is more effectually and firmly to unite andsecure together the ends of railroad-rails at a moderate cost, and insuch a manner as to prevent the accumulation of sand or dust between theends of the said rails.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rail-joint made according to ourinvention. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view of the same. Fig. 3 is atransverse section on the line t t in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a transversesection on the line a; w in Fig. 1. Fig.5 is a side elevation. Fig. 6 isa plan or top view, illustrating a modification of our improved joint.Fig. 7 is a transverse section on the line 2 z in Fig. 5. Figs. 8 and 9illustrate our improved method of forming and securing the screws orbolts used for our improved joints. Figs. 10, 11, and 12 showlongitudinalsectional plan views of various forms of fish plates,hereinafter described.

Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the drawings.

A A are the rails. B is the clip. 0 O are the fish-plates. D is adripping-hole for letting out the sand. E is a countersunk hole forletting out the sand. F F are the bolts or set-screws, and G G are nutswhich may be used for securing the bolts or some of them. a a. aresloping under surfaces of the heads of the rails. a a are sloping uppersurfaces of'the flange or base of the rails. a is the web of the rail. bb are portions of the clip which fit against and support the undersloping surface of the heads of the rails. b b are the vertical sides ofthe clip.

0 c are the central portions of the fish-plates, which fit against theclip. 0 c are the upper edges of such fish-plates.

c c are the lower edges of such fish-plates. c c are projecting ends ofsuch fish-plates. Other parts shown in the drawing are hereinafterdescribed.

The said invention relates partly to further improvements in therail-joints for which Letters Patent were granted to the said AlfredBuckingham Ibbotson, dated the 1st day of February, 1876, No. 173,012.

The joints described in the specification of the said former LettersPatent consisted of a steel sheath or clip made to embrace a portion ofthe ends of two rails to be united by enveloping their bases, their twosides, and the sloping portions immediately underneath their heads, tosupport and hold the same and keep them together, in combination withexternal fish-plates, whose length did not in any case exceed, and wasnot necessarily equal to, that of the clip, and which were attached tothe clip and the rails by one or more bolts or set-screws passed throughone of such fishplates, the clip, and the rails, and screwed into theother fish-plate or otherwise, as therein set forth.

it will be readily understood that the clip being by far the most costlypart of the aforesaid joint, the cost of the same would be materiallyincreased by any extension in the length of the said sheath or clip, toallow space therein for the efficient use of more than two bolts orset-screws, for increasing the strength of the joint, and for preventingany hinge-motion therein produced by the traffic.

According to one part of our present invention, we may employ a largernumber than two bolts or set-screws, for increasing the strength of thejoint, and for preventing any hinge or turning motion of the railstherein, without necessitating any increase in the length of the sheathor clip, and we may, if required, reduce the cost of the joint bydecreasing the length of the sheath employed. We accomplish theseobjects by the use of long and peculiarly formed external fishplates 0,in combination with the sheaths or clips B, or in combination with amodified form of such clips, and with or without the peculiar bolts,set-screws, or nuts, all as hereinafter fully set forth.

The aforesaid peculiar external fish-plates O are formed to projectbeyond both ends of the clip B. They are secured to the rails at theircentral portion by bolts passing through them and the clip, and are asmuch longer than the said clip as will allow sufficient space in theirprojecting ends a for additional bolts or set-screws to be passedthrough them and the rails without passing through the clip.

()ne mode of constructing these long fishplates is to form themstraight, and of the same thickness throughout their entire length as isrequired to fit them against the external sides of the clip, as shown inFig. 10. the said plates being beveled on their edges, as shown in Figs.3, 4, and 7, and ot' the requisite breadth to cause them to fit closelythroughout their entire length against the sloping upper sides of thebases of the rails, and against the under sides of the heads of therails in the position in which they will afterward be held by the clipto be inclosed by them. We shear or punch out the central portions ofboth their upper and lower edges, and bevel the said edges to fit atthose parts as closely against the external sides of the clip as theirprojecting ends will fit against the rails themselves at and beyond bothends of the clip, as shown in Figs. 1 to 4.

Or, these long external fish-plates C may have their central portionformed to fit against the external sides of the clip B, and theirprojectin g ends c of greater breadth, or of greater breadth andthickness, to fit against the rails. This increased breadth or breadthand thickness may be produced by reducing the central portion of a solidpiece, or by welding additional metal on the said projecting ends, or bybending or setting the projecting ends over the ends of the clip, orotherwise forming the said plates to fit equally well against theexternal sides of the clip B at their central portion, and against therails at their projecting ends beyond the ends of the clip. Thesemodified forms of the fish-plates are shown in Figs. 11 and 12.

In Figs. 5, 6, and 7 we have shown a modification in the form of boththe clips B and the long external fish-plates C, to be used incombination therewith, whereby the total cost of the joint may hesomewhat reduced, and the said long fishplates will be rendered strongerin their central portions. We accomplish these objects in the followingmanner, namely: We form the clip B with its sides or vertical parts ofdiminished heightthat is to say, these sides are of sufiicient height toallow the screws or bolts to pass through them, the fish-plates, and therails; and we form the whole of the upper edges of the fish-plates O atc straight from end to end, and properly beveled to fit directly againstthe under side of the heads of the rails throughout the entire length ofsuch fish-plates. With this construction of our joint the lower edgeonly of the fish-plates will require to be cut away to form an apertureor space tor the clip. Therefore the upper portion of the central partof these fish-plates will remain intact, and the strength of the platewill be proportionately greater.

Although the clips B and the elongated fishplates 0 above described maybe formed of any kind of metal, we prefer to use steel for this purpose.

Any suitable bolts and nuts may be used in connection with theabove-described clips and fish-plates; but we prefer to dispense withthe use of nuts as much as possible, and to form screw-threads in thebolt-holes in one of the fish-plates, so that bolts or set-screws may bepassed through one fish-plate, the clip,(where it extends between thefish-plates and the rails,) and be screwed into the tapped boltholes inthe other fish-plate, as in Fig. 2, as bolts so secured are less liableto become loose through vibration than when nuts are used; or one ormore of the bolt-holes in one fishplate, and one or more of those in theother plate, may tapped or threaded, so that some of the bolts may bescrewed in from one side and some from the other side of the joint, asshown in Fig. 6; or we may use the steel nuts with iron bolts, or thesteel bolts with iron nuts, or otherwise, hereinafter described, in

combination with the whole or a portion of the bolt-holes in thesejoints.

In the form of our improved railroad-rail joints, Figs. 5, 6, and 7, theclip B is exceedingly short, and, while made to embrace the web of therails tightly, only rises high enough on its sides to receive throughthe central portion and the rails one bolt. The elongated externalfish-plates O fit directly against the under sloping side of the headsof the rails, and support the same throughout the entire length from endto end of the upper edges of the said fish-plates, and where the loweredges of such fish-plates are not only made to inclose and fit againstand upon the clip, but upon the sloping upper edges of the base of therails beyond the ends of the clip B, and wherein one of the bolts isscrewed into one of the fish-plates, two of them into the otherfishplate, and the two external bolts are secured by nuts.

Another part of this invention relates to the means adopted for theprevention of any accumulation between the ends of the rails inclosed bythe said clips of sand or dust, which might interfere with the expansionof the rails in hot weather. We accomplish this object by forming a holeor holes of a peculiar shape through the base of the clip B, preferablyin the center of the said base, so that when the clip B is fixed uponthe rails to be joined thereby the said hole or holes will beimmediately underneath the space between the ends of such rails. Inmaking this hole a small boss or nipple projecting downward is formedthereby, as shown at D, Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, or with the upper sideinside the clip countersunk or funnel-shaped, as shown at E, Fig. 7, toconduct the sand or dust through such hole, and

thereby prevent any accumulation thereof between the ends of the rails.

The countersunk or downward depression on the surface all around thesaid hole receives the sand or dust which may fall into the center ofthe joint between the ends of the' rails, and which will be, by its ownweight and the vibration of the traffic, collected in such hollow ordepression, and will be conducted into and through the said hole to theground below.

By forcing the edges of the hole downward below the under side of thebase of the clip B, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, the vertical depth ofthe base of the said clip around such hole will be so increased as toimpart sufficient extra strength to compensate for the weakening effectof the hole therein that would otherwise be caused. This peculiarformation of the hole may not only be advantageously used in the clipsabove described, but in any other form of clip or sheath-joint, for thepurpose set forth.

Another part of this invention relates to the bolts or set-screwsemployed in combination with the above clips and fish-plates, or of thetapped or threaded holes in such fish-plates, into which the screws orbolts are screwed, or in the nuts for the said bolts, the object of thispart of our invention being to render such bolts more permanently andreliably tight; and the same is carried into practice in thefollowmanner-that is to say:

When the fish-plate, in which we form tapped or threaded bolt-holes, ismade of steel, we use bolts or set-screws made of softer metal, bypreference of iron, and cut their screwthreads upon only a portion ofthe length that will be required to enter the tapped hole or nut, asshown by the full lines f, Fig. 8, so that when such bolts are beingscrewed into the said steel fish-plate, the thread in the latter, beingformed of harder metal than the said bolts, will, during the last fewturns of the wrench or other implement, act like a screw-plate, and willcut the remainder of the screw-thread on the said bolts or screws, asshown by the dotted lines f Moreover, when the said fish-plates are madeof softer metal than steel, we may case-harden or otherwise harden thethreads in their tapped bolt-holes, to enable them to accomplish thesame object while such partially-screwed bolts or set-screws are beingforcibly screwed into them.

On the other hand, when the tapped fishplates are formed of iron, orother metal softer than steel, the threads of their tapped holes may beonly partially cut, and the bolts or screws have their threads fully outupon them, the said bolts or screws being made of steel, or having theirthreads case-hardened, or otherwise made harder than the thread of thesaid holes, so that when said bolts or screws are screwed into suchbolt-holes with the necessary force, their hard threads will out or formthe remainder of the thread in the said bolt-holes.

Or, instead of tapping the bolt-holes or all of them in the fish-plates,steel nuts with properly-cut threads, or nuts with such threadshardened, may be used for the tightening of the partially-cut bolts orscrews F, and for cutting the remainder of the thread on them; or nutsG, of softer metal than steel, having their threads partially cut, asshown in Fig. 9, may be used in connection with steel bolts that havetheir threads properly and fully cut, or with bolts or set-screws thathave such properly-cut threads hardened for the purpose of cutting theremainder of the partially-cut threads in the said nuts G in the act ofbeing forcibly screwed into the same.

This part of our invention, by which a hard and completely-cut thread ismade to complete the cutting of the thread of a partiallyscrewedsurface, is not only applicable for use in combination with theabove-described joints, but to all other railroad-rail joints wherebolts or screws are used, and will insure the tightness of such jointsfor an extremely long period.

We do not here make any claim to the peculiar manner of securing thefastening-bolts in place, as such will form the subject of a separateapplication for Letters Patent.

We claim as our invention- 1. The combination, with the rails A and clipB, embracing said rails, of the elongated fish-plates 0, having theprojecting ends 0 constructed to be connected with the rails beyond theends of the clip B, and, bearing against the rails at such places,support the same in position, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

2. The clips B, constructed at their base portions with one or moreopenings, for discharging sand or dust collecting between the ends ofthe rails, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The fish-plates O O, constructed with the ends 0 of a greater widththan the central portion of such fish-plates, in combination with therails A and clip B, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

ALFRED BUCKINGHAM IBBOTSON. FREDERICK JOHN TALBOT.

Witnesses to the signature of the said Alfred Buckingham Ibbotson:

GEORGE HARVEY, Clerk, Florence. PREs'roN POWERS, Sculptor, Florence.

Witnesses to the signature of the said Frederick John Talbot:

A. F. STONE, Clerk, Shejfield. JOHN BANKS, Clerk, Shefiielol.

